This record represents the first recorded incarnation of the Doobies part II, the edition of the band featuring gravel-voiced keyboardist Michael MacDonald. It's clearly a transitional album, and a pretty big departure from the band's original style. You can hear the new direction most clearly on the album's two hit singles--the title tune and "It Keeps You Running." The closing track "Carry Me Away" marks the first appearance of the see-saw keyboard riffs later immortalized in "What A Fool Believes" (and later ripped off to good commercial effect by various MacDonald wannabes like Robbie Dupree). ... Full Description The rest of the album deals in various forms of funk. Japanese only SHM paper sleeve pressing. Features 2009 remastering. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC & Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players. Warner.2009. Recorded at Warner Bros. Recording Studios, North Hollywood, California. The Memphis Horns: Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love, James Mitchell, Lewis Collins, Jack Hale. The Doobie Brothers: Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons (vocals, guitar); Michael McDonald (vocals, keyboards); Tiran Porter (vocals, bass); Keith Knudsen (vocals, drums); Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (guitar); John Hartman (drums). Additional personnel: Maria Muldaur (vocals); Novi (viola); Jesse Butler (organ); Richie Hayward (drums); Bobby LaKind (congas). ~cduniverse.com
These five-disc box sets issued by the German arm of Sony BMG are for the most part a fine way to reissue original recordings en masse -- unlike their American counterparts who do the sloppiest job possible. If you already have these classic '50s sides by Miles Davis with his first great quintet and with Gil Evans, then don't bother reading further. If you don't, pick up these sides with Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain (the only complaint is that these weren't in this set instead of 58 Sessions and Miles Ahead, but there were reasons for that and some of them have to do with commerce). In any case, these are the extended versions of the albums when they were reissued definitively on CD in the 1990s and early 2000s. They contain bonus cuts not on the original CDs, the sound is warm and balanced, and each disc comes in its own case. The other cool thing is for the consumer: if you look around online, you can find these boxes dirt cheap, for about six or seven dollars a disc, which is cheaper than their domestic counterparts would be. ~ Thom Jurek / cduniverse.com
His blues bona fides buttressed by his 2011 debut album Let Them Talk, Hugh Laurie returns with Didn't It Rain, another collection of jazz and blues standards, usually of the New Orleans variety but not always (his heart will sometimes stray to Kansas City), produced by Joe Henry. If Let Them Talk had a slightly burnished, rich veneer, Didn't It Rain is a bit lighter, with Laurie content to let himself slip into the background as both pianist and vocalist, which is odd as he has considerably fewer guests here than he did on his debut. Apart from Taj Mahal, this is pretty self-contained, Laurie playing the boogie with his band, sometimes lying back and letting his backing singers steal the spotlight, which they do with ease. Nobody is concerned with reinterpreting the songs or surprising a listener, they just want to enjoy re-creating sounds and tunes they've loved, an attitude that's rarely alienating although it's never quite infectious, either. All involved love the boogie and love the swing, happy to hit the accents hard and draw out the eighth notes, and if there's never a compelling reason to listen to Laurie and crew tackle these well-loved tunes, nobody involved embarrasses themselves, and it's a pretty enjoyable way to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine / cduniverse.com
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